Games that make you think will always be popular, no matter how technological the age may be. Puzzles develop logical thinking. And if they use visual material, then also figurative. Games based on various shapes and sizes of geometric shapes help develop spatial imagination. Tangram, in particular, “Columbus Egg”, forms such thought processes as juxtaposition of part and whole, analysis of the situation and generalization.
What are puzzles?
Any task that requires quick wits will be a puzzle. It does not require special scientific knowledge to search for an answer. Rather, it will require intuition and creativity.
There is no particular classification of puzzles. However, you can divide them into groups depending on what they operate with.
- The basis of the game is the word. The task itself, the course of its solution and the result - all can be completed only using oral or written speech. This puzzle does not require attracting items. An example is a riddle or a charade.
- Quest using items. It can be composed of any things that are sure to be in the house: matches or toothpicks, coins or buttons, cards.
- Puzzle depicted on paper. This includes all kinds of crosswords and puzzles.
- Games with specially crafted items. Popular examples: puzzles, Rubik's cube, snake, Columbus egg.
What is a geometric puzzle?
For this game, the main figure is divided into parts. It turns out flat, correct and not very details. The original figure can be almost any. In tangram, for example, it is usually a square. And from the name of the Columbus Egg puzzle, it’s clear that it is based on an oval that resembles an egg. There are games in which the main figure is a circle or a heart.
From the resulting details, you need to add something else, some kind of complex figure. And this pattern should be recognizable. Such folding can be either arbitrary or by assignment. Schemes for drawing drawings can contain only silhouettes or depict the contours of parts. It all depends on the level of preparation of the player.
How to make a puzzle yourself?
Like any other toy, such designers can be purchased at the store. But it will be more interesting if you make a Columbian Egg with your own hands.
Since the reuse of designer parts is contemplated, it is desirable that the material be dense. For example, hard cardboard or a piece of even plastic.
In order to simplify the manufacturing process of the game, you can take the oval as a basis, which is lined up in the same way as an egg. But you can spend a little more time and draw an egg.
First you need to draw a circle in which to draw two perpendicular diameters. They will become the first lines along which the egg will then be cut. Then, at the extreme points of one of the segments, draw two circles with a radius equal to this diameter. Then you need to draw lines connecting the three points on the circle, which will give large triangles. You need to finish them on large circles. Draw the upper small circle and the lower of the same radius. The first will show the border of the egg, and the bottom will give three points that tell you where to draw small triangles.
As a result, you should get 5 pairs of figures that are formed:
- from large and small triangles;
- large and small figures resembling triangles, but with one rounded side;
- details resembling a trapezoid, one side of which is curved.
For clarity and an easier understanding of how to lane the Columbus Egg, the diagram is presented below. The lines along which you want to divide the puzzle into parts are highlighted in red.
In some versions of this game, to simplify the task, the small triangles inside the egg are combined into one.
Puzzle Rules
The essence of the task is to put the figures from the details of the Columbian Egg designer. It can be people, animals or birds, transport and furniture, flowers, letters and numbers.
There are only two rules in the game that cannot be violated:
- first, you need to use all the details;
- second - the parts should not intersect, they should be applied to each other.
When you get to know the puzzle, you can simply look at the details and think about what they look like. This will make it easier to play Columbus Egg. For preschoolers, this item is a must. Because it will be easier for them to understand how to make figures. In addition, this moment contributes to the development of imagination and the ability to analyze and break the whole into parts.
As you improve your puzzle game skills, you need to move from simple to complex. First, the diagrams should contain lines that show the boundaries of the parts. Then they may no longer be.
Folding figures preferably on a white sheet of paper. Then you can circle them and paint on the clarifying details and background. This will help develop imagination and diversify the game.
Possible puzzle patterns
As an example of a simplified version of the game, in which there are 9 parts, at the initial stage, you can use such schemes.
For connoisseurs and fans to break their heads, pictures without auxiliary lines are suitable.
No one will remain indifferent. The whole family will be involved in finding a solution.